We arrive in Heathrow the last week of June for a three week trip. We would like to avoid large city traffic, etc and thought to take the bus to Oxford and rent a car there. Our first stay is a cottage rental in Stow on the Wold. We then progress to a place outside Cardiff and from there to Northern Wales, the Lake District and York. We will then return to London, returning the car in Oxford. Does anyone have any better suggestions? We have never driven in England before and realize that driving on the "other" side of the road is enough stress without the addition of driving in new and unknown territory. And, by the way, wee have every intention of reading up the "rules of the road' in England

I don't think you shoud have any problems.It only takes a couple of days to get use to driving on the left. Just review your maps before setting out on the days journey.

Your itinerary seems to avoid the worst of the traffic areas. I assume you'll return the car to Oxford before going onto London.

Hi Jane,
Oxford and many other cities have park and ride facilities signposted at useful junctions - which I would heartily recommend so that you can avoid driving in the centres. Cardiff is an easy city to drive in but is very expensive to park in the multi-storey car parks. The train station is right in the middle of town. Where outside Cardiff are you?
I always find the Lake District intensely irritating due to the authorities fixation with putting double yellow lines (i.e. no parking) all around the lakes and forcing you into the expensive National Trust car parks.
Rules of the road aren't that much different and there is no need to be worried - just a few to observe if you are from the US. Never turn on a red traffic light and don't overtake on an inside lane on motorways (lane discipline is important and enforcable by law - if you try and overtake on the inside as in the USA then the driver will not expect you to be there and may swerve into your path).

Why are you getting the bus to Oxford?

Collect the car at LHR, and you've got a large car park to mess about in. You exit onto a highly disciplined one-way system leading to a series of dual carriageways (divided highways) which are about the most benign way imaginable of getting used to driving on the proper side. 45 miles later you hit the Oxford ring road (and worst of all the Headington roundabout) with some experience and confidence about our driving habits.

Get a bus to Oxford, and after finding your car hire place (either another cab ride or a really painful hike with luggage) you debouche straight onto the city streets. Oncoming cars are no big hazard, as like you they'll probably be moving too slowly to be a problem. But bikes can be if you're struggling with the scale of driving here at the same time as you're faffing with gear changes. Some decades later, you probably emerge onto a stretch of Oxford's A34 ring road that even after decades of driving here I find slightly daunting. Picking up a car in the middle of any busy city isn't ideal for the novice. But it's downright heroic to pick one up in a city on the edge of a major national road intersection that's been deprived of investment as remorselessly as the local economy's been booming.

You might as well hire your car at Heathrow. As others have said, it is easy to get used to driving on the left when in one way systems and divided highways.

You are more likely to find yourself back on the right hand side when you are out in the country with no other cars to follow. This is most likely to happen days later when you think you have adjusted and begin to relax your concentration. Let your passenger handle the maps and keep your eyes (and mind) on the road.

I knew some would suggest you pick up your car at LHR, but having done it both ways(Oxford & LHR), we found it much easier to get the bus to Oxford and pick up our car there.

That said we did live in Oxford for almost nine months and know the place well. I don't know how the construction on Terminal 5 is coming along, but we found it far more difficult to get to rental car place and then find our way out of the airport and onto the M4.

Lkewise it wasn't all that easy dropping it off. Maybe construction is no longer a problem. Would much prefer tackling the Headington roundabout and the ring road than the airport maze.

The most important thing is to have a really good map and study it BEFORE you stat out.

Your trip itinerary is great and somewhat similar to ours. We're picking our car up in Oxford (spending the night) and driving to Wales (Cardiff),then up the coast to northern Wales, off to Ireland for two weeks and then take the ferry back to Scotland. We'll tour Scotland for 12 days and then head back to Oxford and LHR.

I agree with AR - try to use Park and Ride schemes wherever you can.

York has a very good Park and Ride service on nearly every major road into the city - go here for more info: http://www.york.gov.uk/parking/ride/index.html

It's definately worth using this if you aren't actually staying in York, as car parking can be VERY expensive and the streets around the centre can be confusing (darn that one way system!!!)

If you're driving into the city and staying on for a couple of days, leave your car in the hotel car park and walk - York is very compact and you'll see so much more.

If the weather is not so good while you're here, there are several companies who do bus tours around the city - again, letting you leave your car at the hotel.

Hope this helps.

For the rules of the road have a look at
http://www.highwaycode.gov.uk/

I agree, when switching sides of the street, it's easier to drive on the freeway than on city streets. I wouldn't bother with Oxford. (That is, for car picking up purposes.) Also you might reserve an automatic transmission to simplify the learning process.

But how long is your flight? I can't imagine driving in a foreign country on the other side of the road after a 8- or 9-hour overnight flight.

I appreciate all the input. But would like to add two more questions. How much time should we allow to drive from Conwy to Windermere? How much time should we allow to drive from York to Oxford? Thank you.

Perhaps someone can answer your question, but you can also go to the following website, select route planning, then Britain, plug in departure city and destination.You'll get mileage,travel time and the best route. It's the easiest map site to use.

www.aaroadwatch.ie

Conwy to Windermere would take about 5 or 6 hours in good traffic. Not as bad as it sounds. Have a good breakfast and leave about 10ish and you'll be there mid afternoon. Stay on the A55 and then the motorways until you get to the Lake District.